Economics
Indian business magnate wants young workers to work up to 70 hours per week
Indian entrepreneur N.R. Narayana Murthy advocates for a further increase in the weekly working hours in India.
The average weekly working hours in India are already among the highest worldwide. However, for the renowned entrepreneur N.R. Narayana Murthy, this is far from enough. According to CNN, one of the country's most famous entrepreneurs is convinced that even harder work is needed to turn India into a global economic powerhouse.
The 77-year-old co-founder of the software giant Infosys, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes to be over four billion dollars, emphasizes: "India needs fiercely determined, extremely disciplined and exceptionally hardworking young people who are ready to work 70 hours a week."
He cites Germany and Japan as examples, which achieved economic success through hard work after the Second World War.
In a recently released YouTube video of the talk show "The Record | Leadership by Example", Murthy spoke on this topic with Mohandas Pai, the former CFO of Infosys. He emphasized that India's youth often adopt negative habits from the West, thereby hindering the country's progress.
However, people in India are already working more than in most other countries. According to data from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the average working week per worker is 47.7 hours. This puts India in seventh place in the world rankings, with only six countries, according to the ILO, having a higher average.
To further stimulate economic growth, the tech tycoon called on corporate leaders to motivate young people to "work very hard". This could be done by emphasizing the growing respect India is gaining worldwide. It is now time to consolidate and accelerate progress.
However, Murthy's comments were heavily criticized on social media. A woman stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the demand for longer working hours would lead to women being pushed out of the labor market, as they have so far often been responsible for household and childcare.
In surveys in recent years, Indians have stated that they consider themselves among the hardest working and underpaid people in the world. Nevertheless, India's economy continues to be seen as one of the fastest-growing major economies. The International Monetary Fund estimates that it will grow by 6.3 percent this year.
